Restricting Access to Criminal Records

Fort Wayne Criminal Defense Lawyer

Until recently, Indiana's
expungement laws only benefitted a limited group of people. While some expungement
laws in other states apply to convictions, Indiana's expungement laws
only restricted authorities to sealing records of arrests and charges
but not of convictions. That means that anyone who had been convicted
under Indiana criminal law had no chance of distancing themselves from
that unfortunate event regardless of how much time had already passed.
This had been the state of Indiana's expungement laws until 2011, when
the General Assembly provided a means by which Indiana offenders could
restrict certain convictions from public view and normal background checks.

Under this new law, which went into effect on July 1, 2011,
offenders in Indiana that have been convicted of non-violent crimes can
petition a sentencing court to restrict access to the records concerning
that specific arrest. There are a number of qualifications that must be met in order to be eligible
for this new restriction provision. The first and most important is that
an individual may only make the petition after eight years have passed
since the time that he or she completed the sentence from the arrest.

Other limitations to the provision apply concerning the nature of the crime
the person was convicted of. The ability to restrict access to criminal
records only applies to individuals who were convicted of misdemeanor
crimes or non-violent class D felonies. The provision is also available
to juvenile delinquents convicted of committing crimes that are similar
in nature to non-violent class D felonies or misdemeanors. In addition
to crimes that result in bodily injury to others, the provision is also
not available to sex offenders.

If an individual's situation meets all of the requirements, the court should
grant the petition for all pertinent records to be restricted from public
view without a court order. This provision can be extremely beneficial
to past offenders seeking a second chance and to improve their lives through
employment and education. Someone who is granted this petition can escape
the stigma and impact of a past conviction and move on.

Do you qualify to restricting access to your criminal records?
Contact a Fort Wayne criminal defense today to begin the petition process.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only.
Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual
case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt
or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.